Prem Rugby to seek investors if RFU backs relegation-free franchise league
The league wants a new cash injection after a turbulent few years, with several US investors understood to be interested in buying into English sport
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- Thread starter Which Tyler
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Tbh I don't see another option at this stage. Investment in the clubs is basically contingent on them being in the top flight, and if anyone went down there is a good chance they'd go bust.
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Could not have chosen a worse logo for an already very low quality joke.
The premiership was actually good to watch when they had relegation though. It’s a catch 22 but either way now half the games are pointless and no one wants or cares enough to watch them.
How does this also work with the CVC deal which surely must have shown the teams that investment didn’t actually help long term.
Let’s invest loads of money to keep the game the same and not get any more people watching it. If investment is just propping up the current status quo it’s failed.
How does this also work with the CVC deal which surely must have shown the teams that investment didn’t actually help long term.
Let’s invest loads of money to keep the game the same and not get any more people watching it. If investment is just propping up the current status quo it’s failed.
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I've come to the conclusion that rugby in England as a professional sport will likely die in my lifetime.
Brown Bottle
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I've heard this said often but I don't think it holds up. Attendances and viewing figures have been going up since the game went professional but there's hardly ever been any relegation jeopardy. Even when relegation was actually a thing, the team that was going down was usually obvious after 5 or 6 games and quite often before a game was played.
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I'm not sure where I sit on this. Saints went down in 2007. Seems mad that you can now just comfortably sit bottom of the prem for a number of season with 2/3 wins at best and have no jeopardy what so ever. Other than the financial ramifications clearly.
My understanding is most revenue for clubs is now via match day and there all scared stiff of losing that if they get relegated.
My understanding is most revenue for clubs is now via match day and there all scared stiff of losing that if they get relegated.
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If franchises is the way forward, then after more open salary cap is needed, to make teams more equal.
Also, needs to have a draft.
Finally, academies need to be removed from PRL clubs, and added to RFU so that best talent can be moved to teams.
Otherwise, clubs with money will be able to develop better players and so skew the league structure.
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This is extremely unworkable.
"Yes, 15 year old child, we are forcing you to move from London to Newcastle. No, you don't have a choice..."
What's the ******* point in the sport, at that point?
How can you possibly have any connection to your local team if they have no connection to the local area
Meh, if they go with franchises and officially removing promotion/relegation, then they can do whatever else they like; they'll have already told me that I'm not wanted as a customer.
Sale and Quins accounts make grim reading on the face of it
Yeah we're completely ****** if we can't maintain a sugar daddy at all times
Not really sure what the answer is, think the sport definitely needs pro rugby in the north west but it's just not sustainable in it's current state - guess Sale's thinking is hoping success on the pitch breeds success off it, so keep pumping in money in the hope that the tide turns, but nothing really seems to change the gate numbers, and we get blocked at every turn trying to get our own stadium
Not really sure what the answer is, think the sport definitely needs pro rugby in the north west but it's just not sustainable in it's current state - guess Sale's thinking is hoping success on the pitch breeds success off it, so keep pumping in money in the hope that the tide turns, but nothing really seems to change the gate numbers, and we get blocked at every turn trying to get our own stadium
Hopefully ITV keeping the 6N and getting the Nation's Cup will get more people interested next year. Needing Sky, TNT and Premier to watch everything is still bananas though.
It holds up in a different context and you’d also have to look at which team attendances numbers are up and which are not.
If you take a relegation season where fewer teams also qualify for Europe (when it was worth being in). There were tons of games of interest even and relegation wasn’t guaranteed until later in the season. The bottom half of the table was a lot more competitive with each other and there were some classic games with the bottom teams actually caring.
These days nearly all qualify for Europe (which is super) and the lower teams have nothing to play for and the viewers have nothing to watch.
On a separate point I also think having all community rugby played the same time as the premiership is just stupid.
Hundreds of rugby players who don’t follow a team and can’t easily watch one.
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The problem with that is the obvious disconnect between international rugby and club rugby, especially in England. Large chunks of fans just don't go to the other. You don't see the RFU plugging the PREM or heavily advertising for it at any of their international fixtures or TV coverage. The PREM (and other pro rugby below that) does not get much press attention either, whereas internationals will be frequently front and centre. Even "nothing" friendlies.
It's not just England where it's an issue, international rugby in general has been cannibalising the game underneath it, perhaps with the exception of France. Partly infrastructure but also because the clubs stood up against to their union on multiple occasions.
I don't see an easy fix. There has to be less international matches though, even world cups don't even feel special any more.
Also no one cares about a made up nations cup. Tours worked well, this stupid made up cup for one extra game isn’t going to make any new friends in the world of rugby.
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